The best cocktails at Singapore’s top bars

Soursop Colada, Jigger & Pony

Photo: Jigger & Pony

1/11

Scoring a reservation at the undisputed OG of Singapore’s homegrown cocktail bar scene, Jigger & Pony, is never easy, though it’s always worth the trouble. One of our favourites from their current Bloom menu is the Soursop Colada — a spiffed-up take on a tropical classic setting Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 Year Rum against baijiu, soursop, and clarified yoghurt whey, served alongside a housemade coconut and soursop chocolate bonbon.

Forest Fire, Mo Bar

Photo: Mo Bar

2/11

Benefitting from close proximity to Marina Bay, this hotel bar with an “indie cocktail lab” spirit lets guests choose which region of Asia whose flavours they want to explore. Sample the Forest Fire, a smoke-kissed spiritual reinterpretation of 19th-century artist Raden Saleh’s Boschbrand painting housed at the National Gallery Singapore featuring Monkey Shoulder Blended Whisky, Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, and pala & cengkeh (nutmeg and clove) amaro.

Where The Boys Are, Manhattan

Photo: Manhattan

3/11

As its name suggests, the cocktail list at this bar — “Seasons of Manhattan” — features drinks that take their cues from the ever-evolving spirit of the Big Apple. Where The Boys Are distils the mischief of spring into a truly riotous libation. The twin spirits of Codigo Blanco tequila and Siete Misterios Doba Yej mezcal are set against the playful citrus of plum, melon, and blackberry.

Republic pays homage to the then and now with expressions of history through the Singapore lens in liquid form. Case in point: the Emma Peel, a feminist symbol of 1960s British television drama given corporeality with Grey Goose Vodka, Mr Black Liqueur, 1883 Coconut Syrup, banana puree, and coffee.

Martini, Atlas

Photo: Atlas

5/11

Batman. Great Gatsby. These are the franchises that usually pop up when referencing this triple-height-ceiling, art-deco-style bar in Parkview Square. Home to one of the largest gin libraries in the world, it’s no surprise that the signature martini is formed on a foundation of its house-developed London Dry Gin, paired with Ambrato Vermouth, orange bitters, and champagne vinegar. It’s characterised as “strong, cold, floral, with a little lick of the wild”.

This lockdown-born bar by veterans from 28 HongKong Street and Spiffy Dapper features an interior built by hand, mostly from upcycled materials. Drinks vary weekly according to local ingredients, but six classic styles of cocktails will always be available.

This number is a locavore twist on the achingly familiar tang of achar (a spicy pickle popular in many Southeast Asian cultures), featuring Tanqueray gin, ginger, dry vermouth, cucumber, lime, and a dollop of Nyonya achar.

From this Singapore-centric bar comes local flavours as progressive cocktails, with the latest menu celebrating the one thing binding everyone in The Republic, regardless of race, language, or religion. We’re talking about Singlish, a local creole giving rise at Nutmeg & Clove to such creations as Alamak — a breezy mixer of Roku gin, soursoup, passionfruit, pomegranate, Kirsch, clarified milk, and bubbles.

Bees in the Trap, 28 HongKong Street

Photo: 28 HongKong Street

8/11

With a nondescript door and no address, this speakeasy embraces its role as a secret spot only for those in the know. Clearly, the secret has long been out, as 28 HongKong Street is now commemorating its 14th anniversary with a throwback menu titled Now & Then.

For a sweet treat to start — or end — the night out, shoot for Bees in the Trap, a buzzy cocktail put together with ABA Pisco, Avallen Calvados, Muyer Vetivier Gris, citrus, apple, pear, and honey.

For a mixtape of curated cocktails and buzzy beats put together by local music collectives Darker than Wax and Ice Cream Sundays, head to Offtrack — an intoxicatingly offbeat watering hole that’s just as good for its pan-Asian bar bites as its pours.

The drinks are fun incarnate, with headliners including the Eleganza, featuring Hendrick’s gin gussied up with coconut yoghurt, lemon, aperitif wine, cucumber, and a dash of absinthe.

Cat Bite Margarita, Cat Bite Club

Photo: Cat Bite Club

10/11

Cat Bite Club isn’t your average Duxton neighbourhood bar. It’s an authority on all things agave and rice spirits underscored by what is probably Singapore’s largest collection of its kind (read: over 300 artisanal distillates from Mexico and across Asia), shaken, stirred, and served with a distinct too-cool-for-school orientation.

Signatures include the Cat Bite Margarita, where Codigo 1530 Blanco tequila, Los Siete Misterios Espadin mezcal, Cointreau, sherry, agave nectar, and a citrus blend intermingle for a libation that’s refreshingly whole and addictive.

Dalgona Iced Coffee, BOP

Photo: BOP

11/11

Bartenders of Pony, also known by its initials BOP, is dedicated to recreating the warmth, comfort and irreverence of Korean drinking rituals right here along Tras Street. The cocktail programme is naturally K-centric, pairing traditional spirits like soju and makgeolli with ingredients like perilla, seaweed, and rice.

The Dalgona Iced Coffee draws upon the sweet joys of Covid-era coffee virality and the nostalgia of Korean honeycomb candy for an indulgent vodka-based cocktail fortified with gamhongno (a Korean liquor made medicinal with cinnamon and dried tangerine peel), rice cream, and a dalgona cookie crumble.